The clause I was referring to falls under the Residential Tenancies Act, under “Winter evictions” in Section 54(2), where it specifies the restrictions. But I take the intent of the Member’s question. Of course, if that issue comes up in terms of the legislation and the need to have a review, we’d be committed to that process.

Final supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

I’m glad the Minister will have a look at that and maybe direct his department to make changes to that.

The other one is if one of our clients owes $50, do we throw them all out? What is the limit there?

The issue with rents in arrears is dealt with on a case-by-case basis. It depends how long, but usually it requires some significant arrears and a process where there has been an inability to collect rent.

I would just like to point out for the benefit of the House that we struggle with rental arrears. We probably have well over $6 million in rental arrears that we’re trying to collect, and it is a challenge for the LHOs and for this government. It’s a burden. We speak to the issue of not only what we’re doing as a Housing Corporation, but the issue of personal responsibility and how we collectively work together in this very important area.

In my Member’s statement today I talked about the lack of a palliative care drug benefits program in the Northwest Territories. Currently the G.N.W.T. does not have a palliative care program. Palliative patients are going through a significant amount of stress, given their condition, and the last thing they need is additional stress built

up on them as they have to deal with prescription medications and getting additional prescription medication from the pharmacy.

Our current process involves filling out an application, sending the application in. The application then goes down to Alberta Blue Cross which administers the Extended Health Benefits Program. Lots of delays; often you have to spend money up front.

My question to the Minister is: for the care and comfort of our residents who have been diagnosed as palliative, would you commit to developing, or having the Department of Health and Social Services develop, a comprehensive palliative care benefits program that has a comprehensive formula for pain management of palliative patients?

I thank the Member for the question in the first place.

Also, it’s important to note there is no one under palliative care who is going without the medication they need. I think we should make that very clear. Everybody is getting the medication they need. This is an issue with the process. I think the approval for the drugs, or the medication, is taking longer than it should.

But under the existing program, if all the documents are in on time, it is possible for the return to happen within 24 hours. I have talked to my department about this, and we’re in discussion with Blue Cross to make sure that we bring this to their attention so that any application being made by the physician for palliative care medication is processed within 24 hours.

In my research on this issue I’ve talked to a number of pharmacists, and it’s clear to me, through discussions with them, that the majority of palliative patients are experiencing delays. They are submitting applications that have to go through the department before they get to Alberta Blue Cross. Alberta Blue Cross has a fairly quick and rapid turn-around time; there’s no question — within 24 hours. It’s getting it to them that’s taking a long time.

We need an expedited process for palliative patients in the Northwest Territories to ensure that they do not have to go out-of-pocket. And they are going out-of-pocket. And if they can’t afford to go out-of-pocket, then they go without until they’ve been approved by the G.N.W.T., the standard or Supplementary Health Benefits.

Once again, I’d like to ask the Minister to develop, or have the department develop, a comprehensive palliative care drug benefits program which includes a formula so that every time a medication is changed or a prescription is changed for the pain management of one of our residents who is

palliative, they don’t have to resubmit another application.

We are looking into that. I think it’s a difference in what we call it. I’m willing to commit to having a rapid assessment program in order to ensure that those in palliative situations who need to be taken care of have as little stress as possible. The department will work with Alberta Blue Cross to expedite that process.

What we should keep in mind, though…. There are lots of medications that people in palliative care need that are under strict control because of the nature and the scope of that medication. So we couldn’t possibly do something where there were no controls at all. I totally agree with the Member that we need to do more to make the process more efficient, quicker and more compassionate. I will make the commitment to the Member to look into that.

I’ve already committed to that. Everyone who needs palliative medications is getting them. We will make it as efficient as possible. There’s no one going without the help they need. We will try to make that more efficient. And we are working on a rapid assessment process.

Our civil service is a significant, innovative resource that we need to put to work when we are faced with these fiscal challenges. We know that they have many skills beyond just what they bring to the job.

I’m wondering if the Premier has approached the civil service and asked them to identify opportunities for cost savings, and what other action he is taking in this area.

Our approach has been more the formal process that's been established through

our departments and into their organizations to see what can be identified as potential areas of savings.

The energy costs in particular are a huge part of our operations and maintenance and capital budgets. How are you engaging our civil service to ensure that opportunities for savings on energy are realized? What are the real attempts to engage the full civil service in addressing this opportunity?

There are a number of avenues that we are engaged in, and have been for quite some time, in trying to address areas of savings, whether it’s construction techniques, lighting fixtures, how we heat our facilities, and the quality of materials that are being used as we look at construction or renovation of our assets.

Another way of doing that, for example, is our energy committee that we've pulled together in cabinet as well as the infrastructure committee that is looking at our capital process and how we look at that type of infrastructure. There are a number of initiatives that draw on that. As well, I am open to ideas where we can draw on the collective spirit of our people within the Government of the Northwest Territories that may have some ways and ideas that we may not have engaged as of yet.

Yeah, I think there are probably a lot of innovative ways. I know we have energy programs within the government where those with skills in the energy management side of things are engaged.

I’m talking about our full civil service, reward programs and so on. These have been demonstrated to work in many cases right here in the city of Yellowknife. There have been programs where tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars have been saved from operations and capital costs.

How will you engage our civil service as a complete and full body of employees to create the sort of suggestions and ideas — and follow up with evaluation and so on — that can lead to major savings and that will have many benefits in the way of the environment, our operational costs and their own jobs? This would be a highly motivated bunch of people, almost a volunteer service, who are intimately familiar with their work environments and aware of the opportunities, in many cases. How will you engage them in that opportunity to save their own jobs through savings?

I think we have initiated that process by having this discussion here in this Assembly. There are a number of avenues we could look at. We do have a Premier’s web site, and we could look at having our staff make suggestions there. There could be a letter-writing campaign.

As well, our existing processes that we have structured with our cabinet committees can formally adopt a number of processes, trying to look at ways to find savings in the area of energy and other areas that would help us in saving costs as a government.

A final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you to the Premier for that.

May I take that as a commitment that this government will act very soon on that opportunity, in at least the potential expectation that surprising levels of savings will be made if we engage our civil service early with that voluntary effort?

Yes, you can take that as a commitment. We will look at ways of trying to draw on the collective will of our people who are employed within the Government of the Northwest Territories, as well as individuals out there who look from the outside in and sometimes question the way we do things as a government. We're looking for suggestions. There are a number of ways we can do that, whether it’s through, as I stated, the Premier’s web site and the e-mail process through that, as well as our energy committee, which we can put some energy behind and focus to this.

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I support the strategic reductions that are being suggested to look for efficiencies on the $135 million figure. But of course, as I’ve said before, the devil is in the details, and this side of the House, too, is lacking.

Mr. Speaker, my questions are to the Premier. I want to underscore some issues that he lived through. Back in the ’90s we had layoffs, so I don’t want any flashbacks of that. But is his government taking into consideration that every job we let go, quite possibly we’re going to lose our grant from Canada? Layoffs mean payments — payoff payments, that is, when you do a layoff. So is his government taking those things into consideration, that if you are trimming jobs, those are the types of things we have to consider?

The last time I heard about “the devil’s in the details,” I made a comment, and somebody had clipped that piece and put it into another part of what I’d said, so I must be careful in my response.

I did hear the Member tell me I needed to heed his warning, so I’m here to respond in a positive fashion. There are a number of us who have lived through the past Assemblies. For example, in the ’95-’96 days, the government of the day was taking

$150 million out of the process and made some very drastic decisions at that point, and some would say we have not quite fully recovered from those. That’s why we do have to look at what’s being put on the table to ensure we’ve measured all the impacts of that. That’s why we’re going to need more time than we would normally require as we begin our business planning process.

As the Premier well knows…. Well, first of all, I’ve been to his office to tell him about some of the rumours that I hear at the Co-op or wherever the place is, so he’s well aware of the fact that there are concerns out there. As well, I’m sure he’s getting them from other Members.

Mr. Speaker, one of the big fears is that we’re going to start repackaging things, like, for example, we’re going to take a leg off the table and now we’re going to call it a tripod. Are we going to start doing that with our programs — that we’re going to start shuffling things and renaming them so that we give them new, fancy titles? I just want to make sure that we do this in a sensible way.

Can the Premier tell us today when the Regular Members will be able to see that detail and that type of packaging you’re suggesting? Because we’re getting a lot of questions over here, and I think people deserve good answers.

Mr. Speaker, I also agree we need to get good information to Members so that they be well informed of what the processes are. That’s the undertaking we’re involved with now: to get that information together and make sure that what we’re going to present is something that is on the right path and that fits with those strategic initiatives we’ve discussed as part of our vision for the 16th Legislative Assembly and how many dollars

we may reinvest in those areas. We’ve got to ensure, for example, that if a department is identifying an area that can be reduced or some savings that may occur, they don’t overlap with initiatives that we’re trying to put out. So that type of analysis has to happen.

As I’ve shared with committee, there’s a timeline that we have, and building that forward, hopefully, we’ll be able to present a very detailed package in early spring.

Mr. Speaker, I assume all Members received this letter, but I certainly received a letter yesterday. It was from the UNW, and one of the suggestions — I won’t go through the whole letter, of course — was to consider things like hiring freezes, and just in case we do have to lay people over, that there are potential opportunities out there.

But I got this letter at the same time as I had another letter on my desk. It was one from the Housing Corporation, where they’re now making

two vice-president positions. So we’re asking for a pound of flesh on one side of the game, but then we’re staffing vice-president positions, which are very bloated and very expensive.

Recognizing the situation, Mr. Speaker, will the Premier investigate this situation? And if these positions haven’t been staffed as of this moment, will he put a pause on that, in light of the fact of the reductions? We are still about to see Sheila Fraser in about a month, now, to discuss the Housing Corp in general. Would he take a look at it?